In 1742, the Bethlehem
Baptist Church was constituted in what
is today Kingwood Township, in a village that took on the name
Baptistown. The church came to be known as the Kingwood Baptist Church.
It was not long afterwards that members of the church began to hold
meetings at a location about three miles southwest of Baptistown, along
the Wickecheoke Creek. The church in that location was referred to as
"The Lower Church" or the "Swamp Meeting House." This church was
located near to the present Locktown Stone Church. The minister of the
Kingwood Baptist Church would alternate the location for his Sunday
service between Baptistown and the Lower Church.

Construction
of the Stone Church
According to the minutes of the Baptist Church, on January 1, 1814, the
congregation met at the home of Amos Bonham to determine the location
for a new church building near Johnson's Tavern on Rte 519. Apparently
a church was never built there. Then, on January 1, 1819, the
congregation resolved "to build a new Baptist meeting-house in the
lower part of the congregation or near Mr. William Dilses." The site
was determined on January 27th; the minutes read:

"Mr. Daniel
Rittenhouse
offers to the church and congregation one half acre of ground adjoining
the schoolhouse to build a meeting house on and for the conveniences
appertaining to; also to give ground for the enlargement of the
graveyard to a hollow from the road to the creek."

The property was conveyed
by deed on May 29, 1819 to the
following trustees of the Kingwood Baptist Church: Thomas Lequear,
Thomas Shearman, Adam Williamson, Uriah Sutton and George Opdycke.

Elisha Rittenhouse, a
cousin of Daniel Rittenhouse, was
appointed to superintend the construction of a building 32 feet by 45
feet. Construction moved quickly because by October 16th it was
finished and the first services were held in the new building. The
preacher was Rev. David Bateman, a man of considerable leadership
qualities who was beloved by his congregation and was able to hold it
together, even as differences in doctrine were growing.

The Schism That Named A Village
During the early 1800s, a conservative outlook, opposed to missions and
progressive teachings, developed among many Baptist congregations. They
felt these were man-made and therefore not appropriate. These
conservative Baptist beliefs were called "The Old School." Many of the
Kingwood Baptist Congregation held strongly to the Old School.

In 1832, Rev. Bateman
died and was buried, according to his
wishes, under the pulpit in the Swamp Meeting House. He was replaced by
Elder James Wigg in 1834 who came to the area from New York. The next
year, the Church withdrew from the Philadelphia Baptist Association and
formed a new association with like-minded churches, i.e., the First
Hopewell Church, the Second Hopewell Church (in Harbourton), the
Southhampton Church (in Bucks County) and another church in Camden
County.

In the 1830s, there was a
great deal of religious fervor
throughout the country. This is generally known as "The Second Great
Awakening," which encouraged those who followed the more progressive
school of thought. By 1839, the division amongst the Baptist churches
in the area became reflected in the Kingwood Baptist congregation. Most
of the congregation agreed with the Old School approach, but Elder Wigg
preferred the more liberal school of thought. On February 2, Elder Wigg
was dismissed as pastor "in consequence of his departure from the
doctrines and practices of this church . . ."

But Elder Wigg was not
without support. On February 20th he
and 45 followers (including Daniel Rittenhouse who had donated the
church lot) went to the stone church for Sunday meeting, only to find
that the church doors were locked. There is no mention of this in the
church minutes, but tradition tells that Wigg or one of his followers
proceeded to place another lock on the door to keep the Old Schoolers
out. The building directly south of the church belonged to Daniel
Rittenhouse. It was a tavern at this time, and the tavernkeeper was
Benjamin Hyde, a relative of Daniel Rittenhouse. Tradition says that
Mr. Hyde was so intrigued with the two locks on the church door that he
had a sign made for his tavern that featured three locks. Perhaps it
was Daniel Rittenhouse who contributed the sign. By the time a post
office was set up in the village in 1856, the name Locktown had become
standard usage.

The Outcome of the Struggle
Elder Wigg and his followers met in local houses for a time until they
were able to build their own church in Baptistown, across the street
from the old Baptist church. The Old Schoolers continued to alternate
their Sundays between the Upper and Lower Churches. Elder Gabriel
Conklin came to preach in 1848 and stayed for 21 years, until 1869.

As the years passed, the membership began to
decline. There were only
twelve members in 1933, when winter services were discontinued in the
stone church. The last baptism was performed there in 1951. In 1967,
Howard Johnson, the last trustee, deeded the church and cemetery to the
New Jersey Baptist Convention. He wrote in the minutes: "I locked the
door, with sorrow, forever."

This historic
landmark stood as a silent reminder of the past until the summer of
1973 when
the Flemington Realtor, Kenneth Yeaton had an option to buy the Church
from the
American Baptist Convention.

A SHORT HISTORY OF
THE FRIENDS OF THE LOCKTOWN STONE CHURCH, INC.
by Marfy Goodspeed and Mildred Wehr

Baptist
Convention offers the church for sale
The Locktown Old Stone Church first came into community interest in the
summer of 1973 when a Flemington Realtor, Kenneth Yeaton held an option
to buy the church from the American Baptist Convention and turn it into
a residence.

This stirred resentment in many local residents in the surrounding
communities. Edna Horn, Planning Board Secretary of Delaware 'Township,
Brenda Simonds, secretary of Locktown Grange, R. A. Sorby of the
Hunterdon County Historical Society and others immediately began
efforts to block the sale. Rev, Richard Kollmar, Stephen
Zdepski,
Mildred Wehr and others from the Baptistown Baptist Church pledged
their support to save this historic landmark.

David Poinsett, supervisor of State Historical Sites in Trenton was
contacted. Photos of the Church were taken to his office.
Petitions were signed by the Grange members and the Baptistown Baptist
Church. Through the efforts of this group the building was
listed
in the State Historical Register, November 26, 1973. A short
lime
later, February 15, 1974 it was listed in the National Register of
Historic Places.

After many late night meetings with Delaware Township and these
concerned citizens, the Township blocked the sale by a lot size
variance.

Later meetings were held in the Locktown Grange where members discussed
plans to restore the old Church, The Grange had for many years
maintained the grounds and the old Cemetery along the creek.
Work
crews were organized to clean the church and to repair the roof. During
the 250th Bi-Centennial celebration the Baptistown Baptist Church held
"Open House" in Locktown and promoted the sale of Stephen Zdepski's
newly published book "Baptists in Kingwood, New Jersey" which gives a
complete history of the church. Baptistown Baptist Church is
the
sister of Locktown Old School Baptist.

However, history does repeat itself. The American Baptist
Convention still held title to the church. This became
evident in
1984 when realtor Robert Hughes obtained an option from the Baptist
Convention to purchase the church for $35,000 and convert it into a
residence. The American Baptists gave him 18 months to comply
with their requirements.
The same group of people who in 1974 had saved the church again with
many other friends sought ways to preserve this valuable
landmark. In July, 1984 the group met with Rev. George
Younger,
executive minister of the American Baptist Convention to discuss their
options. The group included Dr. Edwin Teller from the
Flemington
Baptist Church; Paul Rabe, Mr. and Mrs. Elmer Walker and Bob
and
Mary Schenck from the Locktown Grange; Steve and Ruth Zdepski and
Mildred Wehr from the Baptist Church of Baptistown was well as Delaware
Township residents Floyd, Diana and Denise Evans, Milt and Aletta
Smith, and Ed and Sandy Walker. They pledged to initiate a
maintenance program under the auspices of the Locktown
Grange.
Rev. Younger seemed interested in pursuing the matter.

Negotiations
with the Baptist Convention fail
For many evenings they met at the Grange in Locktown to discuss what
steps might be taken. They approached the Environmental Commission, who
agreed to take title to the Church if something could be arranged with
the Baptists. In March 1986, the Township's attorney, Robert K. Hornby,
was authorized to contact the Baptist Convention and express the
Township's interest in acquiring the property. Unfortunately, the
Baptists had decided they would grant the option to Mr. Hughes on
August 1, 1986, no matter what other offer might be made to them.

The Friends Incorporate
It was in April 1986, that the group of local citizens decided to
organize themselves as the "Friends of the Locktown Stone Church," and
incorporate as a non-profit organization. They held a special program
at the church in May, with members of the Flemington Baptist Church
there to sing, and speeches given describing the state of negotiations.
Money was raised to help with preservation of the church. If plans fell
through to save the church, this event would give people one last
chance to spend some time in this historic building.

In July, the Township
Committee heard reports from the
Township attorney that the building was eligible for purchase under the
Green Acres program. The Township voted on a resolution to seek Green
Acres funding for the purchase, and to avoid using tax dollars.

In August, Mr. Hughes
exercised his option, took possession of
the Church and began percolation tests that seriously disturbed the
soil both in front and behind the building. There was much concern that
Mr. Hughes planned to have the church "delisted" from the National
Register of Historic Places. The Friends protested to the Office of New
Jersey Heritage.

Donald Jones purchases the
church
They also reached out to Donald Jones, who supported efforts to save
the church. By February, a deal was struck with Mr. Hughes, who sold
the church to Mr. Jones for $92,000, while the Township proceeded with
its application to Green Acres, which was approved in October 1987.
Unfortunately, the amount approved was only $35,000, the price that Mr.
Hughes had paid the Baptists. In February 1988, the Township agreed to
proceed with appraisals which would allow it to apply for additional
funds. In March 1989, the Township voted to bond for $96,000, allowing
it to purchase the church from Donald Jones.

Township
Succeeds With Application to Green AcresThe application for a
$96,000-loan from Green Acres was
approved in the Spring of 1988, which then voided the bond obligation.
It was not until December 1989 that the sale was completed. Donald
Jones used the proceeds to purchase zero-coupon bonds which he gave to
the Township to use for payment of the principle on the Green Acres
loan, while the Friends pledged to pay the interest on the loan, thus
freeing the Township from using tax dollars for acquisition. On
December 29, 1989, Delaware Township signed a 20-year lease with the
Friends of the Locktown Stone Church. The Friends obligated themselves
to restore the building for public use.

Major
Restoration
Work Begun
The Friends are proud to note that they have diligently pursued that
goal. In 1988 and 1989, the Friends received small grants from the
Hunterdon County Cultural and Heritage Commission which went toward the
cost of a historic structure report. Then in 1991, the Friends were
awarded a grant of $28,000 by the New Jersey Historic Trust to be spent
on renovation of the floor and installation of electrical conduit and
heating ducts. The entire floor was removed, old rotting joists were
replaced, plywood laid on top and the original floorboards restored.
Additional grants were awarded by the Trust.

The Hunterdon County
Cultural & Heritage Commission, The
Large Foundation and The 1772 Foundation for work to restore rotting
beams that supported the gallery, for painting, for a stone
entranceway, and for complete restoration of the two bifold doors.

In 1997, the Friends were
awarded another grant from the
Historic Trust, this time to install a heating system, to replace the
roof and to establish parking and sanitary facilities. This grant was
supplemented by support from The 1772 Foundation and The Hunterdon
County Cultural & Heritage Commission. The heating system was
installed in 1998 by Stryker Heating & Cooling, permitting use
of
the church during the cold months. Next, the Friends turned their
attention to the roof. Restoration of an historic building is never a
simple process, and the roof presented challenges just as every other
part of the building has. The original roof was cedar shakes, which was
covered with a tin roof in 1873. The Historic Sites Council determined
that restoration should be consistent with the second half of the 19th
century, which meant that the new roof would be a replica of the tin
roof rather than the wooden shingles. Win Buchanan of Lambertville
installed the roof in 1999. He was obliged to recreate the short
lengths of tin (24 inches) that were used in the original and to paint
it with a color matching the original paint, which was a deep reddish
brown. The result was very attractive.

Every year the
church becomes more accessible and more popular. Weddings and memorial
services are held there throughout the year. In the spring, book talks
and history talks are given and the Friends sponsor a concert series in
the fall. Support for the Friends has been consistent over the past ten
years, making it possible to provide public programs.